David: Man Of Prayer Series

That was a key fact about WHO GOD IS which David was determined to remember. David knew God loved him. That means that God wanted to help him.

What else does David remember about God when he’s in a storm? I can’t do more than mention a few things. Let’s look at Psalm 3:1-3: David says:

O LORD, how many are my foes!

Many are rising against me;

many are saying of my soul,

there is no salvation for him in God. Selah.

BUT YOU, O LORD, ARE A SHIELD ABOUT ME,

MY GLORY, AND THE LIFTER OF MY HEAD [Psalm 3:1-3].

David sees his foes. So many of them! But then, he turns his attention to God. He remembers WHO GOD IS. GOD IS DAVID’S SHIELD, HIS GLORY AND THE LIFTER OF HIS HEAD. What does that mean for David? If God is those things, does he need to worry about his enemies? No, he doesn’t! Will he fall to them? No, he won’t!

Here’s another small example. It’s Psalm 142:3.

When my spirit faints within me,

YOU KNOW MY WAY!

David is spiritually fainting. But he reminds himself that GOD KNOWS HIS WAY! If God knows his way, then God can guide him out of the difficulty he’s facing.

WHAT GOD HAS DONE

Let’s turn now from WHO GOD IS to WHAT GOD HAS DONE. This is Psalm 40:1-2. David says:

I waited patiently for the LORD …

What did God do?

…HE INCLINED TO ME AND HEARD MY CRY.

HE DREW ME UP FROM THE PIT OF DESTRUCTION,

OUT OF THE MIRY BOG,

AND SET MY FEET UPON A ROCK,

MAKING MY STEPS SECURE.

David isn’t talking TO God at this point. Perhaps David is talking to other people or to himself. He’s remembering something about what God did for him. God drew him out of the pit of destruction. He set his feet on a rock. He made his steps secure.

I don’t know if David was facing a difficulty at that moment. But he remembers how God looked after him in the past. Remembering that helps him to trust that God will look after him in the present.

WHAT GOD WILL DO

Let’s go on to what GOD WILL DO. Actually, the example I’ve chosen is a ‘WILL NOT DO’. This is Psalm 16:8-10.

David says:

I have set the Lord always before me;

because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

David has his eyes set on his Lord. He continues:

Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;

my flesh also dwells secure.

FOR YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO SHEOL,

OR LET YOUR HOLY ONE SEE CORRUPTION.

David isn’t fussed about what’s going to happen. He is absolutely confident about one VERY important thing. God WILL NOT abandon his soul to Sheol. His ultimate destiny is secure.

David remembered WHO GOD IS. He remembered WHAT GOD HAS DONE. And he remembered WHAT GOD WILL OR WILL NOT DO.

A little earlier, I talked about Peter, walking on water and beginning to sink. He looked at the waves when he should have kept his eyes on Jesus.

For David, remembering these things about God was a way to keep his eyes on God. I don’t want to make comparisons between David and Peter. Both were great men of God, and both made mistakes. But in this area, David is a great example to us.

APPLYING THIS TO OURSELVES

The world of David’s time brought him persecution, trouble, danger, stress and accusations. He sometimes felt as though he was sinking into a deep mire, or a flood was sweeping over him.